A log structured file system implements a dynamic approach for writing data to storage medium. In principal, a log structured file system writes all modifications to disk sequentially in a log-like structure. For non-solid state storage media which usually prefer sequential access and sequential write in particular a log structured file system may be beneficial. It is now also believed that at least some solid data storage media prefer sequential access and sequential write in particular, and therefore could also benefit from a log structured file system.
Generally, as an LSA managed hard disk drive (HDD) becomes full, the number and extent of seeks required to locate available storage space increases—adversely impacting performance. In other words, for a current implementation of a log structured file system to operate efficiently, it must ensure that there are always large extents of free space available for writing new data.